Court acquits murder accused, gets his knife back

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Maria Amakali
WINDHOEK – The Windhoek Regional Court acquitted a man on a charge of murder for the death of an alleged robber in April 2014.
Titus Kakololo walked away a free man after the court ruled in his favour, acquitting him on a charge of murder for the death of Ndidalelwa Kalongela. The prosecution charged Kakololo with a count of murder for what it deemed was the unlawful and intentional killing of Kalongela on April 1, 2014 in Ongava Street, Okuryangava. According to the post-mortem report by Doctor Simasiku Kabanje, the deceased died from a single stab wound in the left side of his neck.
In his plea explanation, Kakololo explained he stabbed Kalongela in private defence. He said Kalongela and his friends had tried to rob him of his property.
Kakololo said he was walking home from a drinking place when three men started walking behind him. He said the three men approached and attacked him. He recalled that one of them grabbed his arm, unzipped his shirt and robbed him of his wallet, ATM cards and cellphone. The wallet contained N$170.
During a tussle with the deceased, he noticed he had a knife. He managed to get the knife from the deceased, which led him to swing it. It was in that process that the deceased got stabbed. He further explained that the opposing version is not true as he does not know the deceased and his friends.
According to a witness, Kakololo was in a normal state of mind when he left him at the sheeben. He testified that after the incident he searched the accused but he was not in possession of his cellphone or his money.
A witness who was part of the group that allegedly tried to rob Kakololo explained that the deceased was stabbed when he was trying to help Kakololo stand on his feet after he had fallen to the ground numerous times.
He noted that Kakololo was drunk and needed assistance since he could not stand or walk properly on his own. The witness claimed the deceased and his friends were “helping” Kakololo when they noticed he was about to draw something from his waist. Fearing that Kakololo might pull out a gun, they all fled. He further said that when they fled the scene, Kalongela had already been stabbed.
They followed Kalongela to his shack where they found him dead, lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
The group denied stealing from the accused saying that they were merely assisting him.
Police detective Hiskia Akushiwa said that his observation of the accused was that he had been a bit drunk and smelled of alcohol.
“The court is very doubtful about the reasons given why the deceased and his friends approached and grabbed the accused,” said Magistrate Ileni Velikoshi.
The court concluded that the version of the accused is possibly true because his possessions were stolen and he did not know the deceased and his friends. The court ordered that the double-edged knife be returned to Kakololo. New Era Reporter 2018-06-08 09:37:21 5 months ago